North Texas and The Disposable Suburbs (Dallas, Plano: transplants, custom home, new construction)

[UnfairPark]

Instead of giving billions to other countries, we need to start offering universal healthcare to people in this country. Charity begins at home.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Except what you are selling isn't the truth.

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/e...-parkland-care

DMN opinion articles are ever selling whole truth?

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

DMN opinion articles are ever selling whole truth?

It's about 99% better than your dodging around.

Ultimately "rich" counties to the north are responsible for more than half of Parland's annual budget shortfall. Frankly, it doesn't matter at all what you think or what you want to project.

[UnfairPark]

Don’t worry as I’ve no delusion about my negligible importance in this universe but this is a county issue not a dispute between two towns. For example, Richardson’s Dallas County part pays extra, Collin County part doesn’t.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

Don’t worry as I’ve no delusion about my negligible importance in this universe but this is a county issue not a dispute between two towns. For example, Richardson’s Dallas County part pays extra, Collin County part doesn’t.

That's correct but it helps make my point.

[jiping]

Dallas is having too many Level I Trauma Centers, while its finance is unable to support. It's also causing unnecessary traffics between cities.

Move Parkland to Plano, Baylor to Frisco, Methodist to Allen, Children's to McKinney, and all budget problems will be solved.

[Katana49]

Originally Posted by EDS_

It's about 99% better than your dodging around.

Ultimately "rich" counties to the north are responsible for more than half of Parland's annual budget shortfall. Frankly, it doesn't matter at all what you think or what you want to project.

That's not what the article says actually. ANY county outside of Dallas is who they are talking about. Collin county's tab is supposedly $6 million... In the grand scheme of a large hospital like Parkland's budget, that's nothing.


I've read another article by the DMN and the numbers simply don't add up... They were claiming a budget shortfall of $27 million by out of county patients, but the numbers only came to $18-19 million IIRC.


The DMN always goes after Collin County (and Plano in particular) because they feel they are the ones that can pay. They never go after Tarrant county (which is basically costing Parkland the same as Collin is, if not more.)



Collin county's program for their indigent is set at the federal poverty level, so those earning ~$12000/individual or less qualify for health care and do not need to go to Parkland. However, Tarrant, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties all have their programs set to the bare minimum, ~$2000/individual, so anyone earning over that per year does not qualify for their county's indigent program. So obviously, Collin county has done more to address this issue than any other surrounding county, but the DMN just wants to rile up its readers and blame Plano.

[UnfairPark]

@katana49

Not only on this topic but in general, DMN’s news articles often sound like opinion pieces to me, not fair and quality journalism. I don’t know if it’s an established agenda or just personal biases of writers.

[tcualum]

Originally Posted by Katana49

That's not what the article says actually. ANY county outside of Dallas is who they are talking about. Collin county's tab is supposedly $6 million... In the grand scheme of a large hospital like Parkland's budget, that's nothing.

If Collin County owes $6 million to Parkland then they should pay it. It's cheaper than the county opening it's own Parkland.

[Katana49]

Originally Posted by tcualum

If Collin County owes $6 million to Parkland then they should pay it. It's cheaper than the county opening it's own Parkland.

"If" is the operative word here. Collin county itself doesn't owe Parkland anything, it's the residents choosing to go to Parkland who reside in Collin county. As I said previously, Parkland's numbers don't add up either. They're counting it as the trumped up insurance cost, not the actual cost to Parkland. I'm sure you're aware of how much extra medical procedures cost when insurance is involved, typically speaking when you pay cash, that cost is ~50%-60% of what it costs when using insurance, sometimes far less. I do this dance all the time, because I'm self employed and even though I'm paying for insurance, it absolutely sucks since it's not a PPO and few places even take it, even though it's through BCBS. It's not cheap either, I pay around $15k a year for our family of 3, and then pay cash on top of that for things where it ends up being cheaper/more convenient to not even use our insurance.



At any rate, Collin county has less people going to Parkland as a percentage than does every other county whose residents are using Parkland, because of their much higher threshold for qualifying for medical assistance.



I lived in Dallas for years, and I paid taxes to Parkland. It's not strictly fair, that's for sure. (Back then, Parkland was where pregnant teens went to have their babies who were from more affluent areas, but in those cases, insurance was used and the procedures/stay paid for. They went to avoid word getting out in the community.)